Rain
by GinnyBadWolf
Summary: "She wishes she had time to ask him if he enjoys it too. She wishes she could ask if he breaths in the scent of rain on dry earth like she does on days when it rains."
It smells of incoming rain.

Rain falls often in Paris, but they are only brief showers and the clouds break into sunshine again. This is not one of those times. The thunder rolls menacingly, and the clouds are getting darker. Wind blows through the streets. Nobody is outside.

Except for Ladybug, Chat Noir, and their akuma.

This one is more violent than usual. A mother whose child was sick, for a long time. Her name is Loss. Ladybug has figured out that the woman's child had died earlier that day from the only sentences she had uttered through the whole fight. "I will make you feel true pain, Ladybug. You say that you save Paris and its people, but why couldn't you save my daughter?! She was sick and you could have saved her, you could have saved her!"

It feels terrible to fight her - to only add on to her pain. And Ladybug knows that this is a pain that cannot be fixed, ever.

Her powers are terrifying. She looks like a nurse, almost. Syringes fly out like knives, some unidentifiable drug inside them. Ladybug doesn't want to know what it is. Wires appear from her back, slithering like snakes, and grab ankles and wrists and drag them this way and that.

Chat Noir isn't the least bit cheerful. His face is grim, and Ladybug thinks he hasn't said a word since the fight started, which was over an hour ago.

A wire sneaks out, and before Ladybug knows it, it snags her ankle and sends her sprawling to the ground. She scrabbles to hold on to something to keep it from dragging her away, but there is nothing to hold, so she is dragged on her stomach to where Loss stands silently. Chat Noir yelps, and then leaps to where Ladybug is.

She throws out a hand and he grabs it, pulling her with all his might. Loss tugs harder on her ankle, and Ladybug grunts. Loss then summons more wires, but Chat is smart, and he takes her moment of inattentiveness to yank Ladybug out of her grasp. His fingers are warm in Ladybug's hands, and her stomach flutters for a moment before getting back to the task at hand.

She whips out her yo-yo and blocks at the incoming barrage of wires, and they are unable to pass the quick whirl of her weapon. Loss retracts the wires, and there is a small moment of stillness. Thunder rumbles in the background.

Ladybug catches a glimpse of a smile on Loss' face, but it is gone as soon as it has come. There's a blur of white, and then a sputter. Loss turns and walks away, despite the purple butterfly appearing around her eyes - no doubt Hawkmoth telling her to get back to the fight. Then, Loss speaks for the second time that night. Her words are calm and smooth, a stark contrast from earlier. "Now you understand, Ladybug."

Ladybug turns to ask Chat Noir what Loss might mean, but he isn't standing behind her.

He's on the ground, a syringe in his chest. Somehow, somehow, it went through his suit, and the drug has entered his system. Somehow.

She only breaths one thing before she falls to the ground beside him. "No..."

Chat Noir's eyes - they twitch, as if they itch to close - look dazedly up at her. He grabs the syringe and pulls it out of his chest. "L-Ladybug..."

She shakes her head. "No, no. You're fine, kitty cat, you're fine. She didn't kill you, she can't have killed you-"

He cuts her off. "Sh, Ladybug. You're wrong. I can feel it. My - my heart feels like it's slowing down, oh god, Ladybug, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die... please, let me say something to you."

She shakes her head. "No, no, Chat, there isn't a need to say anything. You're going to be fine." But she puts her hand over his heart. The pulses are spaced out a little too much. Her breath catches in her throat. "No."

A hand weakly tips her chin up, so that her eyes meet his. "Ladybug, I - I love you. You mean everything to me, Ladybug. Ladybug, I love you. I want to stay, I want to stay with you! Please, I don't want to die, I don't want to die." His eyes squeeze shut tightly, and he opens them again. "Ladybug, Ladybug, please, please save me, Ladybug, I don't want to leave your side." His breaths quicken, and he chokes on his words. "L-Ladybug, p-please, no, no, no..." She leans farther over him.

"No, kitty, don't leave me, please don't leave me, I can't do this without you. I don't want a new partner, I want you to stay. Chat, Chat, please, I want to save you, I need you." Their pleas join together, but his words slur.

Tears sting at the corner of her eyes, and her begs become more desperate. He only breaths now, large and shuddering. "Chat, Chat, I love you, I love you, I do, you matter to me so much and I - I - I - I can't do this!" She takes a large gulp of air, and he looks at her with fear in his eyes. She takes his limp hand and puts it over her chest.

"F-Feel my heartbeat, Chat, and count with me." He nods, slightly, and knows it can calm them down. Her hand joins his over her own heart.

" _Un. Deux. Trois. Quatre. Cinq. Six. Sept. Huit. Neuf._ " Her words are soft and crack at the edges.

" _Un. Deux. Trois. Quatre. Cinq. Six. Sept. Huit. Neuf._ " His words are weak and fade at the sides.

She starts again. "Good. _Un. Deux. Trois. Quatre. Cinq. Six. Sept. Huit. Neuf._ "

He doesn't respond.

" _Sept, huit, neuf."_

" _Sept - huit..."_ Her words crack. The hand underneath hers goes limp completely, and she puts her hand on his chest again, searching for a pulse.

A raindrop falls, and it lands on Chat Noir's cheek. It looks like he is crying.

His closed eyes crack open, just slightly, and he looks at her. His words are mumbled and quiet. " _Je t'aime,_ my lady. Take your time to join me, for I will not forget you where I go."

Her trembling hand grazes his cheek lightly with her finger. He smiles weakly, and then his eyes slide shut.

There is no beat. The life has left his body, flying through the stormy clouds and away into the night.

She'll never know his favorite color. Somehow, in their two years together, she never found the time to ask him. There was so much more she could have done.

"Kitty..." The words tumble out of her mouth. "Come back to me. I need more time. I need more time. I need more time to know you. I can't remember you if I don't have more time."

One sob escapes her. Just one. It rips itself from her throat, disappearing amongst the thunder. The rain starts to fall, all around them. It smells like rain.

She wishes she had time to ask him if he enjoys it too. She wishes she could ask if he breaths in the scent of rain on dry earth like she does on days when it rains.

Once the sob is gone, she stands up. A drop of rain falls over Chat Noir's heart. Another one on his closed eyelid. Then another, and another, and another, until he is buried in rain.

Ladybug's heart is full of water. She stands, and turns. A fist clenches. Then the other. She looks up. A terrible scowl is on her face. It's as if she has forgotten how to smile.

"Loss," She growls. " _Loss._ You have what you wanted. Come out, come out, and claim your prize. What do you **want?"** She turns, looking behind her as if Loss is hiding there. " **Regret?"** She turns again, yelling her next words. " _ **Understanding?"**_ The last one is sent to the sky. " _ **An apology?**_ Because you're _not going to get it._ I will _not give you what you want._ I will _rip you apart._ I will _ruin you."_ She whispers.

A syringe flies past her face. Ladybug turns to the direction it came from, sheer determination and a steely resolve shining in her eyes. She takes out her yo-yo and walks in that direction, whipping it around. She walks calmly, slowly, as if she is a predator stalking her prey. She does it with her head held high and her eyes dry.

Loss jumps out at her, and Ladybug doesn't flinch. She whips her yo-yo at her so hard that she is thrown back. Ladybug then activates her Lucky Charm with much less rigour than usual. It gives her a pair of scissors.

Ladybug doesn't question it, because there is nobody to question it with. Her vision blinks on a string necklace around Loss' neck, tucked in so far it's barely visible. Ladybug stalks up to Loss and grabs her by the collar, not giving her a chance to react. She snips the necklace with the scissors, not minding when Loss' skin is nicked.

An akuma flies out of the necklace, and Ladybug purifies it as soon as possible. She watches it go free, resisting the urge to re-capture it and crush it in her grasp.

The scissors go up in the air next, and a swarm of ladybugs fly through the air, fixing everything around her that was broken.

A group flies to Chat Noir's body.

Ladybug's mouth opens slightly, and she watches as they land on his chest and dissolve away for a moment before coming back, and flying back off into the distance.

She scrambles to his side, and her fingers entwine with his. Her other hand finds itself carding through his hair, waiting, waiting for it.

He is still for a moment, and then his chest rises. His impossibly green eyes flutter, for just a moment. " _Un, Deux, Trois -"_ He coughs. She cries.

"Chat Noir, do you love the smell of the rain?"

He breaths out a soft response. "The name is petrichor. I love it like I love you."

Then she leans down and locks lips with him, the rain pattering gently.


End file.
